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9 <br /> 1 II. The project budget must be sealed by a professional engineer. Documentation of cost <br /> 2 effectiveness of the project is also required. Further, if the grant will not cover the <br /> 3 complete project costs, the applicant must provide evidence of commitment of <br /> 4 additional funding to meet the budget. (A project budget would need to be developed <br /> 5 with funding sources identified and confirmed.) <br /> 6 <br /> 7 <br /> 8 Priority Criteria <br /> 9 <br /> 10 I. Economic Need (75 points) —This criterion requires that the residential area served by <br /> 11 the grant contain at least 51% low and moderate income households, consideration <br /> 12 of the poverty rate of the County and the amount of the water/sewer bill relative to <br /> 13 the median household income. (Census data, perhaps door-to-door surveys and the <br /> 14 OWASA rate schedule will need to be reviewed to confirm compliance with this <br /> 15 requirement.) <br /> 16 <br /> 17 II. Severity of Need (50 points) — For areas where there are failing septic systems, a map <br /> 18 delineating the location of failed septic systems must be submitted. Also, there must <br /> 19 be a letter from a registered soil scientist or a registered sanitarian verifying the <br /> 20 failed septic systems. (To receive the maximum points in this category more than <br /> 21 20% of the systems must be failing. Less than 10% of the systems failing yield 30 <br /> 22 points.) <br /> 23 <br /> 24 III. System Management (17 points) —The system serving the project area must have a <br /> 25 Capital Improvements Plan (updated in the last two years) and and/or an Asset <br /> 26 Management Plan that includes the proposed sewer project. The operating ratio <br /> 27 should be greater than one. (Uncertain of the existence of these plans and the <br /> 28 system's operating ratio.) <br /> 29 <br /> 30 Additionally, in my professional opinion all other requirements of the grant application can be <br /> 31 met with the assistance of OWASA and perhaps GIS for mapping in time for the May 1 <br /> 32 application deadline. This allows the opportunity for a public hearing on April 15 after the <br /> 33 application is developed no later than April 5th. <br /> 34 <br /> 35 Nevertheless, the timeframe for application development is very short (one month), thus, <br /> 36 direction is needed as soon as possible regarding the County's interest in pursuing this <br /> 37 application. Should you wish to proceed, I am willing to work to develop this application for a <br /> 38 May 1 submission. <br /> 39 <br /> 40 Michael Talbert said this is on a very fast track, and he noted the application due dates <br /> 41 of April 1 and May 1. He said there are several things outlined in the memo, including the <br /> 42 engineering study and confirmation of area demographics, which must be done in order to <br /> 43 apply. He said the demographic study could be done through the Jackson Center and/or <br /> 44 RENA. He noted the need for certification and mapping of failed septic systems. <br /> 45 He said this must be planned for in the capital investment plan, and it must be in <br /> 46 OWASA's plan. He hopes these steps can be completed this year in order to be in a good <br /> 47 position to apply for this next year. <br /> 48 He reviewed some of the manager recommendations. He said one of the concerns of <br /> 49 the Carrboro Board was that everyone gets a chance to review the documentation, especially <br /> 50 for the Jackson Group and RENA, to make sure that the scope of services is what everyone <br />